Conceptual art

151 articles

Conceptual art is an art form whereby the ideation, planning, and creation process carry more importance than the product itself. Put otherwise, the concept, decision, or idea behind the artwork is more important than the result when it comes to conceptual art.

This art movement gained traction in the mid-1960s through the mid-1970s following the publication of Paragraphs on Conceptual Art by leading artist Sol LeWitt in 1967.

Conceptual artists often create art in many different forms, including earth art, body art, video art, installation, performance art, happenings, and photographic documentation. The principle that unites all these art tendencies is the idea-based approach to art creation.

Artist Richard Long’s groundbreaking A line made by walking

The photograph reveals a straight line receding towards tall bushes and trees. It is a straight line of trampled grass that appears in a field. Below the image, the writing says A Line Made By Walking and England 1967. The whole artwork is a documentation of Richard Long’s land artwork. It documents his work: The

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Christian Marclay’s masterpiece The Clock – Edited over three years

Consisting of hundreds of Hollywood film clips depicting time in real-time as it plays, Christian Marclay’s The Clock was quite revolutionary at its release. The 24-hour montage of film and TV clips featuring clocks and watches was designed to be functional in that it actually told the time. As a result, visitors were led through

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Olafur-Eliasson-Feelings-are-facts-2010-Fluorescent-lights-red-green-blue-aluminium-steel-wood-ballasts-haze-machines-Ullens-Center-for-Contemporary-Art-Beijing-2010-feat

Olafur Eliasson’s fascinating colorful haze installation in Beijing

Feelings Are Facts was created as a result of a collaboration between Danish artist Olafur Eliasson and Beijing-based architect Ma Yansong of MAD studio. Feelings Are Facts was constructed within one of the rooms at the UCCA galleries. It measured approximately 60m by 20m and featured a moderately slanted floor that progressively became steeper at

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Why was Tracey Emin’s bed a shock to the audience?

Tracey Emin’s work has always been shrouded in revelation and discovery, where she uses her real-life events as the inspiration for her works. So far, her art has become varied to include video installations, paintings, drawings, neon sculptures, photography, and even needlework. Emin’s work is characterized by an imminence and frequently sexually challenging boldness that

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Olafur Eliasson’s Meditated Motion – A pond in a museum

Throughout his career, Olafur Eliasson has participated in a number of critically acclaimed exhibitions worldwide. His works have been displayed in numerous private and public collections all over the world, including the Guggenheim Museum as well as the Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles, just to name a few. Eliasson always includes his audience as

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Santiago Sierra’s Tattoo Lines – Paying prostitutes with drugs (SFW)

In a video recording of the process of drawing a tattoo on the back of four women, the documentation by an artist, Santiago Sierra, has a far deeper meaning. The event took place in Salamanca, Spain, in 2000. From the artist’s explanation, the four women are prostitutes and addicted to her. Their pay for agreeing

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Walter de Maria - The New-York-Earth-Room-1977 feat

Walter de Maria’s New York Earth Room – What makes it a crowd pleaser?

Walter de Maria was one of the most influential artists of the 20th century having participated in four popular movements including installation art, minimalism, land art, and conceptual art. He was an astute artist who drew upon elements of sublime and mathematical absolutes in some of his installations and large-scale sculptures. Walter de Maria revolutionized

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This was Cai Guo-Qiang’s impressive installation Inopportune at the Guggenheim

Cai Guo-Qiang has been making art since 1985. However, the installation piece that he is perhaps most well known for, or at least helped to propel him to global fame, was his brief but impressive exploding rainbow of fireworks over the East River in 2002. This piece, which was created to commemorate MoMA’s opening in

This was Cai Guo-Qiang’s impressive installation Inopportune at the Guggenheim Read More

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